Journey from Infinity
by Uncertain FNG
Summary: Where Ezreal comes from, Piltover is burning. Demacia is a mass grave and Ionia is but a faint memory. The last vestiges of hope for his kind were lost a long time ago. Desperate, the remaining survivors of Piltover open a tear into a Runnetera where Valoran has yet to fall. It is here where hope can be found again. It is here where the journey from infinity will begin. AU Novel.
1. Prologue: Part 1

_Preface: Personally I never liked reading about the League of legends. The lore seemed built around the game (which it probably was) to the point that it was a bit cheesy. However, reading some of the backgrounds it really seemed like if you tossed out the League, you could have something truly interesting. My story is the embodiment of that belief and if there is enough interest for this story, I would like to share this vision on this website. Just to warn you, this is an A/U piece. It has to be for what I intend to do with it. Without further adieu I present to you... The Journey from Infinity. _

**Prologue: Part I - Fall to Darkness**

Coming to a stop, a young man paused to catch his breath. His legs were screaming in protest, his armor was scorched, and his face glistened with sweat. The floor around him quaked and the supports of the building he was in groaned. The building's sprinkler systems were going on full blast, the water failing to stop the flames that were slowly consuming the building. Before him lay what was once the foyer of the building. His tired blue eyes gazed on the sight that lay before him. As far as he could see there were the bodies of Piltover's brightest strewn about, some dismembered, some left to rot at their workstations, and to his sorrow others lined up against the wall, their throats slit. With the seriousness of the moment sinking in, the young man sighed. Realizing that he was standing in a graveyard, despair hit him full force as he paused in a moment of silence, the remains of his fellow countrymen lying about. Attempting to focus on what needed to be done he pushed those thoughts into the corner of his mind.

Distant, desperate shouts jarred him from the kneel that he found himself in, his hands instinctively reaching to the weapon he had strapped to his back. Pulling the weapon off the magnetic seals of his suit, he re-engaged the power source, the weapon reactivating with a deadly hum. As the footsteps coming from the hallway behind him grew louder, his fingers searched for the safety, disengaging it as soon as his fingers met the familiar resistance of the release.

Pulling the curved visor which rested on his head over his eyes, he paused for a few seconds as the visor's display flickered to life. Soon an array of images flooded his senses as maps and suit readings flew across his display.

"_Systems online. Shields at 12 percent. Fusion Core at 17 percent. 1 accelerator round remaining. Augmented muscle strands at full strength. Suit strength is nominal._" Spoke a soft synthetic voice.

When the images finally came to a stop the young man gently touched his earpiece. "Computer, map out the fastest path to the main elevator."

On his visor the hallway to his right was highlighted on his display. Steadying his rifle he began to run towards the hallways at a steady pace.

"There he is! Stop him!"

Soon the air warped as several armored men ran into the foyer and cut loose with their weaponry. The floor and furniture surrounding the young man was obliterated as enough plasma to level a house was thrown at him. Several rounds impacted his shields as he tried his best to evade the onslaught. Still running at full speed he whipped around, his rifle coughing out several military grade pulse rounds that turned several of his pursuers into a red mist. Sprinting around several corners he saw the building's primary elevator. His pursuers were right on his tail, heat signatures trailing behind them as they kept up a steady stream of plasma in an attempt to stop him.

In a moment of desperation the young man keyed in the last of his reactor's power to his suit's weapons systems. The emitters on his left arm began to grow bright with a dangerous azure glow as the emitters' energy capacitors reached their maximum storage capacity.

"Emitters at critical levels." Came the soft voice of the suits AI. On his visor, his weapons systems read "Ready".

As soon as his pursuers rounded the corners with a final yell he fired of the emitters, a violent blue light ripping out of his arm, destroying everything in its path. Several men were instantaneously disintegrated as the wave of pure energy burned right through them.

After the energy wave dissipated, the young man took off towards the elevators once more. Behind him the corridor was a mess. The ground was glowing a deep red, the energy from the wave having turned the once pristine looking corridor into a molten mess of melted steel. The surge of energy had short circuited most of the lights on the level, in effect bathing the hallway in darkness.

There were still around seven men left, but the confusion and disarray that the shot caused gave the young man enough time to reach the elevator. Reaching the elevator he quickly jammed the button and sprinted inside as soon as the doors opened. As the doors slid shut, plasma rounds began to slam into it as his pursuers attempted to get in. Bringing about a glass card that he was holding in his pocket, he pushed the card into the slot in the elevator's control panel.

"Processing Identification." The terminal spoke.

"Damn!" Cursed the young man, his fist slamming into the control panel. "Hurry up damn it."

He was worried beyond belief as the stainless steel of the door wouldn't last much longer under the assault of the plasma weaponry that the men outside were using to get in. Already the doors were turning red as the steel was giving in to the heat of the plasma rounds being flung at them.

Just as the door began to buckle under the strain, the control panel chimed and the gears on the elevator began to spin in a whirlwind of activity.

"Identification Verified. Welcome back Mr. Vance. Fast tracking to Piltover Dynamics R&D."

After what seemed like forever the elevator shot up, the foyer receding from view as the elevator accelerator.

Breathing out a sigh of relief the young man then turned to the glass of the wall behind him. After a few moments of darkness the view opened up to the skyline view of Piltover, or in this case, what was left of it. The young man's heart heaved as burning buildings and massive craters filled his vision. The sky was blood red and the streets were in disarray. Most of the star rods in the street were blown out, the lack of light in their absence giving the city a decrepit look. In the distance lay the Guardian Seas where the main evacuations were taking place. Dozens of massive ships were docked at the bay with thousands swarming aboard for evacuation. In the distance the First Fleet, Piltover's last remnants of its once proud navy stood guard at the edge of the opening to the Halcyon naval base.

Loud cracks disrupted the silence of the city as Hex-tech micro rockets flew out of mobile batteries and detonated on Zuanite airships in a final attempt to protect the evacuation. The elevator shook violently as a Zuanite ship ignited near the building as several micro rockets slammed into its gut. The young man covered his eyes as the shockwave and the ensuing explosion shattered the glass panels of the building, sending shards of glass in which direction possible. At the base of the building was a Zuanite platoon, which was soon savagely crushed as the burning remnants of the airship fell on them, slamming molten metal and burning crewmen into them at speeds capable of demolishing a building.

It dawned on him that he was gazing at his home city in ruins, and if all went according to plan this would be the last time that he would be able to set his eyes on it. After the evacuation, the city statesmen were going to overload the city's primary fusion reactors.

Nothing would be left... but it had to be done.

Piltover was all but defeated, its forces decimated and its people rapidly thinning in numbers. Ionia was the first to fall, its peoples unwilling to mobilize for war thus allowing the Noxian and Zuanite war machine to eradicate them. The Ionian guard put up a good fight, but they didn't hold out for long. After the fall of the Placidium the guard surviving guard members were never found again. In time the Shojin monks , the Wu Ju practioners, and even the Kinkou Order were all slain when Zuan began using plasma weaponry. The Ionians who did fight fought bravely, but for all intents and purposes it only delayed the inevitable. Today Ionia was nothing more than a charred rock in the middle of the Guardian seas.

With the fall of Ionia, Demacia was next. After Jarvan IV was assassinated the city state fell to chaos as rival families went at each other's throats for the chance to ascend to the throne. After being hit by a chemical weapon, all that remained of Demacia was a whole lot of empty houses. Anyone who didn't make it out with the Piltover recovery ships was erased from existence by extermination parties. The remaining survivors were currently on the evac carriers. Although eager to fight, at most they were given administrative jobs. With the poisoning of Demacia, Piltover's statesmen declared the Demacians and Ionians as endangered peoples and as such they were to be protected from total extermination by Piltoverite law.

With the two city-states destroyed, Noxus and Zuan joined forces to form the Coalition with only Piltover left to stand alone against the combined might of the joint city state war-machine. There were rumors of tribes in the North, but they were largely dismissed as no one to this day had yet to make it through the Ironspike Mountains alive. All attempts to use modern aircraft had failed as the mountain's electromagnetic properties often caused most VTOL s to malfunction and crash.

In the earlier days of the war one could have actually said that the war was bearable. At the time, Piltover's production capacity was greater than the rest of the city-states combined. Having been heralded as an industrial city of progress, Piltover easily mobilized for wartime production. The war was going so well for them in fact, that in the summer of the Dark Star event, the Piltover police department was in the process of drawing up plans to counter-invade Noxus and Zuan on two fronts.

_The Dark Star event_.

Officially classified by the government as the Dark Star Anomaly, the event changed everything. A few days prior to the invasion, a new star moved into position above Runettera, the brilliant light of a normal star having been replaced by pure darkness. Most were quick to call the new star "the Void." Even now no one knows why the star appeared. All the citizens of Piltover knew was that new star was the source of the evils that now plagued this world.

_ The void walkers._

All but impervious to conventional pulse rounds, the Void monsters that flooded Valoran were unspeakable monstrosities. In what was now dubbed the "Dark Star Massacre", twenty-one Piltoverite invasion outposts dropped off the grid as they were overrun by the Void. Those who made it back to the city came back changed men. Most of them were institutionalized as reports of the survivors clawing their own eyes out and painting the streets with their own blood erupted all across the city. With the Void monstrosities coming and going as they pleased, the war soon turned sour for the City of Progress as set back after set back and loss after loss turned what would have been victory for the city-state into years of hell. With its forces being massacred, Piltover was now becoming the next victim to the Coalition. It didn't help matters when it was discovered that the Void was actively working with the Coalition.

Realizing the finality of the situation, the young man's eyes drank in what was left of what was once the most beautiful city in all of Valoran as silent tears rolled down his fatigued face. Running his hands through his dirty blonde hair, the young man turned around as he sensed the elevator decelerating. The doors being heavily damaged by the plasma bombardment they had earlier suffered struggled to open, the gears groaning and screeching in protest as they pulled back the warped and distorted metal of the doors.

Stepping out into the massive room he found himself in he couldn't help but stare in wonder as the Piltover Dynamics R&D room lay sprawled out in front of him. Elevated and surrounded by holographic displays was decades of Piltover's finest wartime engineering. While war was unfortunate, it had the habit of bringing the best out of people in times of need. Before him lay the technologies brought into existence by the current war; born out of his peoples' desperation.

To his left was the Bio Wing where Piltover's brightest worked day and night to create the Ivory tower.

Constructed days after the chemical bombing of Demacia, the Ivory Tower was capable of dispersing enough vaccine based aerosol to counteract any city-wide chemical attack. As of now the Ivory tower had a distinguished track record. Halting multiple engineered strains of various plagues over the last three years, the tower had thwarted Zuan's attempts to poison the city more times than could be counted.

To his right lay the Nuclear Wing where the first fusion reaction in history successfully completed activation. Today, almost everything was powered by fusion and now it would be the vessel of the cities destruction if all went according to plan.

Ahead lay the Techmaturgy Wing. Using the new found energy supplies brought about by the advent of fusion power, the Techmaturgy Wing was home to Piltover's on the books weapons program. During the war, the Techmaturgy Wing accomplished the incredible feat of putting a pulse rifle in every officer's hands. Firing at speeds up to six percent the speed of light, the pulse rifles hit fast and they hit hard.

Walking past the magnificent displays of science, a wave of guilt washed over the young man.

'I have to destroy all of this' he thought to himself. Yet, a part of him knew that it had to be done. Being the only Vance available at the moment Commissioner Summers had given him the task of destroying the building before it could fall into the wrong hands.

Despite the fact that they were losing the war, Piltover's wartime tech was leaps and bounds ahead of the Coalition's feeble attempts to mimic their technology. Whenever Piltover showed its teeth it bit hard as the Coalition casualty reports could attest to. If the Coalition forces were to get their hands on the tech on this floor, the people of Piltover's days would be numbered. The building had to be destroyed at all costs and the Zuanite sweep team that had found him was making that difficult. With the elevator controls requiring a security issue glass card though, they wouldn't be able reach him anytime soon.

Reaching the Techmaturgy wing he entered his father's old office and immediately rushed over to his desk. The office was pleasant; its walls were adorned with pictures of Piltover's greatest inventors while the room itself was bathed by a set of soft white lights. On his father's desk lay pictures of the family: his mother sitting in a garden in her wedding dress, him as a baby, and some pictures of his earlier romps into the countryside. In the center of the desk lay a flat glass panel which he quickly pressed his palm onto. After a few short seconds a soft whir broke the silence of the office and the desk broke in half to reveal a small, if not plain metal box. Stowing away the box he quickly went to his father's cherished concept design for the capital and unhinged the painting. Beneath it laid a small console. His hands flew across the control panel and to his relief a moment later the console sprung to life.

_"Auto- Self Destruct Sequence online. Confirm to activate._" Replied the pleasant voice of the console.

"Computer begin Auto Destruct Sequence. Authorization Vance gamma echo-"

His voice came to an abrupt halt as his left shoulder exploded with pain. Looking down he saw a small steel blade protruding from his shoulder, the tip gleaming with his blood in the soft white light of the office. Without hesitating he whipped around his pulse rifle only to have a long steel spear driven into his other shoulder. His pulse weapon clattered onto the floor as pain gripped him, his suit growing slippery with his own blood. Before him was a cold face that he had seen before on several reports. His heart began to beat faster while his arms grew colder as more and more blood drained out of his wounds.

"Talon" he hissed. "Fancy seeing you around here." In response, the spear in his shoulder twisted, eliciting a cry of pain from the young man.

"I could say the same for you Ezreal" a silky voice replied. From behind the walls of the office a beautiful woman emerged clad in a Noxian High Command uniform. Luscious scarlet hair flowed down behind her as she walked towards Ezreal. While Ezreal couldn't help but notice a rather deep looking scar running across one of her eyes, other than her scar, her face could have come straight out of a modeling magazine. On her waist lay several steel knives snugly held in place by black leather sheaths. One of the sheaths was empty, giving Ezreal the indication that it was her who had thrown the first knife.

"Who are you?" Ezreal rasped.

The woman smiled, "That's not important right now." Walking over to Ezreal her turquoise eyes gazed into his blue ones as her long slender fingers danced around the handle of the dagger that remained embedded in his shoulder.

Talon remained still, his grip on the spear firm. Before long, several men with assorted blades surrounded the three. The lack of plasma weaponry was telling.

"Noxian's..." Ezreal muttered. "I hate Noxian's."

With a dismissive wave of the woman's hands, the men put their weapons into their sheaths and stood at ease.

Then a genuine look of confusion came across her face as she further studied his features, "Humor me kid. Why exactly does High Command have you - a kid who looks like he's barely old enough to start drinking- on top of their kill or capture list?"

At this it was Ezreal's turn to be confused. "What?"

Upon taking in the look of confusion on his face a look of consternation graced the woman's features as she stopped as if to ponder something. "You really don't know what I'm talking about do you." The statement almost sounding like a question.

"The only thing I do know is that you Noxians will burn for what you have done." Ezreal muttered, his voice growing weaker as he struggled to stay conscious.

"It's a shame you feel that way. " Without warning she ripped the dagger clean out of his shoulder eliciting another cry of pain. Her hand reached back, and the silence of the room was broken yet again by a violent crack as she backhanded him. Moving close to him she began to whisper in his ear. "If you don't want to answer me that fine. We'll just go and pay your little shy mother a visit.

"No!" With a sharp cry Ezreal thrust his hand upward, the accelerated muscle strands in his suit helping him break the steel spear in half. In a split second he thrust his feet out.

"Activate thrusters!"

Much to his satisfaction, with a loud crack his boots ignited. The jet wash threw everyone in its path backwards through the sheet rock walls of the office and back into the hallways. As a man tried to grab onto him, Ezreal ripped the half of the spear embedded in his shoulder out and drove it through the man's stomach. Quickly finding the console he sprinted over to it and began to key in the activation sequence.

"STOP HIM!" The woman shouted, her hand reaching for the numerous daggers around her waist. Despite her desperation, most of her men were still recovering from the jet wash and couldn't stop Ezreal as his hands flew over the command console.

"Computer begin Auto Destruct Sequence, authorization Vance gamma echo delta. Initialize five minutes silent countdown."

After a pause the office's AI spoke out on the loud speaker, "_Authorization confirmed. Five minute countdown will begin now. No more audio cues will be played following this notice._"

With a deep rumble, the fusion reactors in the buildings sub-basement began to leak out coolant, the twin reactors slowly building up to a full meltdown.

Before he could react, Ezreal was hit by a scarlet blur that slammed into him with enough force to send him crashing through his father's desk. When he came to he found a steel blade at his throat.

"I should kill you right now you know." Any signs of friendliness were replaced with a maniac glee as the Noxian woman pressed her blade down harder on his throat.

"Then do it. It won't save you... or the tech in this place."

After a few moments of hesitation the woman sheathed her blade. "No... It won't. But you won't mind giving us the deactivation codes now would you?" Silently she motioned towards one of the soldiers who had already recovered. "You... bring me a pair of pliers."

"Right away Ms. Du Couteau."

The soldier reached into his trousers and pulled out a pair of pliers which he promptly tossed to the woman. Catching the pliers she jammed it into Ezreal's mouth and latched onto one of his teeth eliciting yet another painful groan from him.

"The code... _please_. Let's not make this harder than it has to be." She growled.

"Katarina!" shouted Talon. "We have comp-"

That was all he could get out before a pink mass slammed into him throwing him through several walls of plaster and sheet rock.

* * *

_Caitlyn Summers was going to die today._

At least, that's what 11 years of experience as Piltover's police commissioner told her. In the next few hours, the fate of Piltover's survivors would be in the hands of her and her men and if the past few intelligence reports were anything to go by, her time as the city's police commissioner was coming to a close. At age 31 it would be the end of a promising life with her husband, and the crushing of any chances of starting the family that she wanted so deeply. The couple was going to settle into one of the quiet districts of the city. She was going to become a city statesmen; her husband would have become the next commissioner in her place. The two were going to have two children and live the rest of their lives out in peace.

But that was never going to happen.

As far as she was concerned, she would die here on the outer perimeter of the Halcyon naval port defending the last vestiges of her people.

Yet she wasn't afraid. This would be a good death, her husband was fighting by her side like always and at least they would still be together to the end.

Her musings were cut short when she felt a familiar tug on her uniform.

"Cupcake!"

Another tug.

"Cupcake!"

A slap.

"Cupcake, wake up damn it."

"What is it Vi?" Caitlyn grumbled. She was tired, the streets were quiet for the moment and with the Coalition invasion on ice for the moment, she was trying to get as much rest as she could.

"Lover boy is calling for you, says it's really important. He's got Mr. Vance on the com unit." Vi replied. "Caitlyn, he was pretty shaken up and you know your man isn't shaken up easily."

Motioning to the south were the command tent was most likely pitched, the veteran enforcer smiled. "You'd best get going Cupcake; you got a date to go to."

_Good old Vi._

When things got bad, unlike the rest of the denizens of Piltover she remained cheery and optimistic. It was a great boost for morale, and her affinity for pulverizing things with her gauntlets always brought a smile to everyone's faces. Sure in wartime she had exchanged her signature gauntlets for military grade ones and instead of wearing her "pimped out" jump suit she now wore a standard issue enforcer uniform, but when it really counted Vi was still the same old life of the party. Her pink hair had become somewhat of a good luck charm in the eyes new recruits; many were dyeing their hair pink in an attempt to replicate her knack for surviving seemingly impossible odds. With most of the older officers dying in the war, the new hands had begun to call her "grandma".

Caitlyn smirked, 'Grandma huh? Hell, she's only 27.' She thought.

"Alright, I'm going over. Vi you're in charge here for now."

"Commissioner!" Shouted an officer.

He was one of the newer recruits; he probably wasn't even old enough to get a decent drink, and yet here he was fighting a war that no one should ever have had too. The officer was so new that Caitlyn didn't even know his name. "Contact west of the barricade!" He screamed. Standing up he pointed into the streets below.

"Officer get down!" Caitlyn screamed.

Vi launched herself at the officer in a vain attempt to save him but it was too late. The air around the police blockade warped as plasma rounds burning at a temperature northward of 4,000 degrees Kelvin streaked through the air. The officer had no chance as several plasma rounds melted off the upper half of his body leaving behind a bloody mess.

In the air several Zuanite airships were closing in, ropes dropping down in preparation for aerial combat drops. In front of the ships, nose cannons coughed as explosive rounds slammed into the streets below.

Caitlyn switched on her com unit. "This is the barricade. Activate micro-missile batteries; blast those bastards out of the sky!"

No sooner than she cut off the connection, thousands of micro-missiles streamed from hidden batteries spread out across the port. The sky ignited in a storm of fire as thousands of missiles detonated against steel sending hundreds of Zuanites to their fiery deaths. Thousands upon thousands of tons of molten steel impacted the streets and surrounding buildings as the hex-tech batteries launched volley after volley into the afternoon sky crashing airship after airship into the ground. Screams filled the air as some of the unlucky ones jumped ship only to smash into the streets moments later. Logistics crews double timed it to reload the batteries, the spent heat sinks piling up on the streets.

Yet for all the good they did, the batteries weren't enough. Several drop ships were pushing through the bombardment and some had already begun dropping foot soldiers all around the space port.

Caitlyn pulled her trusted hunting rifle from the sling on her back and chambered a round.

Back in the day many ridiculed her when she turned away the then highly advanced pulse rifle for the gun powder and metal of her father's hunting rifle. The speed and accuracy of the rifle's fifty caliber game cartridge though, to this day had yet to fail her.

Looking up into the sky she saw several Zuanites dropping down from the sea of incoming airships. Lightly touching her earpiece she activated her com channel. "This is the commissioner, all officers weapons free. I repeat, all officers weapons free."

Streets that had been silent no more than five minutes ago roared to life as dozens of officers opened fire with pulse rifles, the combined heat of the onslaught scorching pavement and Zuanite alike. The awesome fire power of the rifles practically excavated the streets, the city's sewage systems easily becoming visible as chunks of the streets were practically _melted_ off by the weapons fire.

Yet for every Zuanite that was eviscerated by the onslaught, three more took his place. It couldn't possible last.

This was the conclusion that Caitlyn came to observing the scene through the scope of her rifle. "Damn it!" She cursed. The situation was growing worse faster than she would have liked.

Suddenly a deathly cry pierced the air as a Zuanite jumped over the barricade. Before he could do anything, Caitlyn drilled a fifty caliber game cartridge straight into his head. Further down, she could see Vi and the others engaging the Zuanites in hand to hand as the barricade was over run. One tried to skewer Vi with his bayonet, but just in time she whipped around, breaking the blade by ramming her gauntlet directly through it. As a look of befuddlement fell on his face, Vi crushed his head with a traditional hay-maker while clothes-pinning another one as he tried to charge her from behind.

In the end two officers weren't going to make or break the defense as already, Caitlyn knew the city was going to fall. It was then that she made what she thought would either be the best or worst decision of her career.

"Vi! We are leaving!" she screeched. Taking a few more potshots she sprinted in the general direction of the command tent. Faster than she could possibly respond to a Zuanite dropped from above, his bayonet ready to strike her down. Just as he was about to gut her, he was slammed into the concrete wall of the Naval office.

"Cupcake we better get moving." Vi huffed. Picking up the foot soldiers plasma rifle, her face was devoid of any signs of mirth. "I'll be right behind you."

Sprinting towards the telecom tent Caitlyn knew one thing and one thing only and that was the fact that Jayce Vance was not one for understatement. As the sole survivor of the classified Glass Tower project, whatever the scientist had must have been good. Reaching the command tent she ripped the flaps open and stepped inside.

Inside was a full complement suite of Piltover's finest equipment. In the center of the room was a holo-table displaying field information in real time. Lined up against the walls was a full suite of sensor equipment and tucked away in the corner was a rack full of standard-issue pulse rifles.

The tent was busy as operators on consoles fed real-time intelligence to the holo-table. By the table was a well-built man with dark brown hair. Dressed in only khaki pants and a sweater, the only thing indicating he was in charge was the fact that he was running around the table, barking commands into his radio as new information flew across the display. As soon as Caitlyn entered the tent, a broad smile graced his face. While he looked happy, the sweat on his face showed the stress he was experiencing.

"Lance!" Caitlyn shouted.

The two embraced and before they knew it they were sharing a deep, passionate kiss. Their arms wrapped around each other as if it would be their last day together, which it might very well be given what Lance was seeing on the holo-table.

"I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too." Replied Caitlyn, the world at the moment forgotten.

Noticing that Vi was tapping her boots on the ground, she quickly disentangled herself from her husband while clearing her throat.

"Right, get Jayce on the line."

Lance pointed at one of the consoles. "He's already on it. I suggest you make haste. He's already briefed me."

Caitlyn walked over to the console and placed a headset on her head. "This is Summers. What is it Jayce?"

After a few seconds a smooth voice responded. "Commissioner what I need to show you would best be explained if I just show you."

"I'm all ears Vance, be quick about it. I'm going to transfer your call to the holo-table."

Caitlyn switched the speaker on using one of the consoles near her and after a few swipes the tired face of one of Piltover's brightest filled the holo-table display.

"In the last few years I've been experimenting with quantum mechanics, trying to find a way to reverse the damage done by the Dark Star Anomaly. You see every time we've tried to kill one those Void nightmares, conventional weapons just seem to pass right through them. We've seen success with pulsefire systems, but the enormous amount of resources required to make one pulsefire weapon without the required elements renders the technology useless."

Caitlyn was interested to see where this was going. Several years ago a military outpost found a buried Icathian ruin. When a science team went to study the ruins they found a kilo of something the scientists were calling "crystite." On the night of the Dark Star massacre, the outpost was attacked by several Void walkers. In a moment of self-sacrifice the science team detonated the portable fusion reactor they brought with them. According to the damage reports, as soon as the nuclear explosion hit the crystite samples, it triggered a reaction that was never seen before, the ensuing explosion taking out the entire forest instead of just the outpost. The void walkers were incinerated along with everything in a 2 mile radius. The investigators who combed the site afterwards picked up a new form of radiation. On a whim they called the new radiation pattern "pulsefire." Shifting her attention to the present, Caitlyn focused on the holo-table.

"My pulsefire core needs weapons grade crystite, which I've only had enough of to make one system. The limited sample that I found was taken from a recently discovered Icathian ruin. After decoding the several Icathian scrolls that our friends at the Yordle Science Academy procured for us, I have reason to believe that if we can find the ruins of the Icathian capital, we could find enough crystite to outright destroy the Void."

"Jayce, people have been looking for the capital for the past two decades. To find it might take another two. We don't have that kind of time!"

"We don't have enough time... but if my theories prove to be correct, that might not necessarily be true _all _of the time."

"I'm not following you," replied Caitlyn a look of confusion gracing her features.

"My father once told me of a thought experiment. He had put a cat in a box with radiation. Inside the box was a vial of poison that would crack in the presence of radiation. He told me that if we were to open that box, we would either see the cat dead or alive. With that he theorized that from that moment there were two different realities created with one having the cat alive and the other having the cat dead." Jayce began. "What he was trying to say is that if everysingle thing we do has multiple outcomes then there would be multiple alternate realities to reflect that. In essense, he was saying that our universe isn't the only one."

Jayce stepped aside and let the video view rest on what lay behind him.

In the center was a massive reactor with a core as dark as night. Massive power cables led from the reactor to the ceiling. In the center of the roof was what appeared to be a launch pad.

"In my youth I thought my father was crazy, yet a decade of trying to find something to use against the Void has shown me otherwise. What you see behind me is the embodiment of that experience, a machine that can make a tear into one of the many realities out there. What you're seeing behind me right now is what I'm calling the Universe Engine, the key to an infinite number of realities."

Jayce let that sink in for a moment before continuing.

"With this we can send someone to another universe where we still have time. That person would be able to seek out the Icathian capital and arm that world with pulsefire weapons. In conjunction with the findings of the Yordles at the science academy, we have every reason to believe that these void born monstrosities are trans-dimensional. Kill one of those things and it vanishes from every universe at every point in time, in effect erasing it from existence. Imagine what would have happened if the Dark Star event never happened. We could in theory save Piltover!" He finished his bloodshot eyes full of excitement. "The only drawback is that Glass Tower only has enough power to keep the tear open long enough for one person to get through it."

"Assuming that you only have enough power to send one person through a tear, who would that person be?"

"My son."

"Jayce... now is not the time for favoritism." Caitlyn responded. "We need an expert, not a kid."

"Exactly. Ezreal is the best archeologist we have. If anyone can find those ruins it's him. Get him to me safe, and we can save everyone. With the void walkers gone from existence, we would have been able to defeat Noxus and Zuan, in effect erasing this timeline."

Caitlyn had heard enough, readying her weapon she stood up and made ready to leave. "Jayce, if you were any other person I would have told you that you were crazy. I hope your right... for everyone's sake."

"Listen Caitlyn, there's one more thing." Jayce began. "If Ezreal succeeds our history will be altered. You won't remember anything that happened past the point that Ezreal changed. If that's the case, seeing as how I only know you from the war we might never meet again. Adjust your goodbyes accordingly."

A realization dawned on Caitlyn as what Jayce said sunk in. "I will. Jayce... if your plan works Piltover is in your debt."

"If my plan works none of us will remember that." With a sad smile Jayce cut the transmission, the holo-table switching back to the earlier tactical overlays from before.

"Alright you heard him, Vi we're going to use the navy VTOL on the roof. Let's get to it."

It was then that the finality of the moment set in. Caitlyn walked over to her husband and gave him a deep kiss. If what Jayce said was right their marriage would be erased, their years of love would be but a faded memory. If what Jayce said was true, this could be their last moment together.

"Lance, if Ezreal succeeds... I want you to know that I always have and always will love you."

"Likewise my love...likewise." Lance replied. Upon seeing a lone tear rolling down his wife's cheek he brushed it away with his thumb and gave her one last kiss. "I'll do my best to hold the barricade, you should get going." Motioning to a woman he walked her over to the holo-table. "Shauna, you have the command-center. When we fall back I want you to report to PSV - Inceptum in dock 7A. The Captain will brief you when you get on board." Without another word he picked up a pulse rifle and headed out to the barricade.

Vi dropped her plasma rifle and replaced it with a department issue pulse rifle. "Alright cupcake lets going. The helipad is a few minutes through the naval office."

Caitlyn nodded and together the two left the tent.

The situation outside was chaotic at best and hopeless at worst. The barricade was over run and by now everything was now close quarters combat. Seeing Vi and Caitlyn making a beeline for the Office of Naval Affairs, a few officers rushed into position to cover them. Several Zuanites tried to stop the duo but they were met by a hailstorm of pulse rifle fire. The ones that got close enough were consequently crippled by Vi's gauntlets and finished off with a round from Caitlyn's hunting rifle.

Soon the duo reached the office. Locking the door behind them the two walked into the once bustling building. Taking a quick look at her tac-pad as the two navigated the building halls, Caitlyn could see that the situation was deteriorating faster than she would have liked. Lance had already fallen back to the Maginot Line, the last defense between the invaders and the evacuation ports. The line itself was composed of several pillboxes and trenches, all of them equipped with either heavy pulse batteries or spitfire turrets. While having teeth, the Maginot Line wouldn't last long given that the defense forces were running out of ammunition.

After climbing up several flights of stairs, Caitlyn and Vi burst out on to the rooftops of the Office of Naval Affairs. Reaching the helipad of the building, the two came to a halt.

Caitlyn paused to look around. Bringing her rifle about she walked over to the edge.

The defenders were giving a hell of a fight. The fading afternoon skyline was filled with weapons fire and the streets lit up again and again as artillery pounded the advancing Zuanites. "Lance is giving it his best, but the Maginot Line won't last long. Vi start keying in the ignition sequence on the VTOL."

The VTOL that was on the helipad was originally owned by a new reporting agency. When the war started the military quickly began commandeering anything that they could get their hands on to help with the evacuations of Ionia and Demacia. This particular craft was one of the older UH-1D s, a reliable if not antiquated piece of machinery. While most of the wartime crafts were built out of cheaper mix between steel and aluminum, the UH-1D was built out of titanium which made it an ideal weapons platform. Armed with a full compliment of hex-tech micro-missile pods, a forward mounted spitfire turret, and two side mounted tertiary pulse turrets it was a flying tank, the only issue being that its older turbine engines were powered on fossil fuels thus requiring a lengthy start up sequence. This particular VTOL belonged to Piltover One, one of the longest running news channels in the city.

"I'm on it cupcake."

Vi quickly jumped into the copilot seat and began the ignition sequence. Her hands flew across the control panels, first turning on the fuel pumps, and then priming the engines. After a few minutes of waiting, pulling back on a lever the machine roared to life. "Engines are keyed. Checking flaps."

Seeing the flaps rotate Caitlyn gave Vi a thumb up.

Hearing the light ringtone of her com unit, she lightly touched her earpiece. Caitlyn was confused. 'Wasn't there supposed to be radio silence?' She thought.

"This is Summers."

The com unit remained silent for a few seconds before a deep gravelly voice cut in, "Commissioner Summers... we have your husband and your officers, surrender yourself and they will be spared.

Caitlyn's heart crept into her throat, her pulse pounding. Running over to the edge of the helipad she peered through her scope and focused on the Maginot Line. A few of her officers were huddled in a corner, a Zuanite firing squad stood nearby, their rifles raised and ready to fire at a moment's notice. All around the Maginot Line lay dozens of Piltover's finest, most burned to char, others run through with bayonets, their blood flooding the once pristine streets. The missile batteries were now large masses of molten metal, their operating crews lined up and executed for the destruction they had wrecked on the Zuanite airships. The defenders had put up a good fight; the streets were littered with crashed airships and dead Zuanites. Thanks to them, all of the evac carriers had made it to sea.

In front of the captured group was Lance on his knees, his armor in shreds and his chest bleeding. Next to him stood a regal figure wearing plated High Command armor. In his hand he held what was probably one of her officer's com units.

The man raised a plasma rifle and aimed it at Lance's head, "This is High General Swain, if you do not surrender yourself in the next 5 minutes I will kill your husband."

"_No_!" Screamed Caitlyn, her hands reaching for her com unit.

Vi exited the craft and grabbed a hold of Caitlyn, "We need to go now! You need to leave him Cupcake." She began. "They only want you because you know were the evac carriers are going. They're not going to have mercy." For once in her life, Vi was dead serious. Her eyes, usually full of mirth were now sympathetic and somber. Vi took Caitlyn in her arms, and looked at her directly in the eyes. "It's not what he would want." She whispered quietly.

"Vi, I just can't do it. It's Lance" Caitlyn cried. Pausing for a moment to gather herself, her voice dropped several decibels, "Save Ezreal. Bring him to Glass Tower. "

With tears slowly rolling down her face she turned to face the Maginot line and depressed her earpiece.

"General Swain, let me speak to my husband and I'll come quietly."

* * *

_ Lance Summers was a satisfied man._

At age 31 he was married to the best woman a man could ask for and had found his life's purpose, something most couldn't say at his age. Lance found himself mulling these thoughts over and over again as him and his men did their best to old back the Zuanite invaders. By now the micro missile batteries were depleted, allowing multiple airships to breach the perimeter.

Right now he and the last of Piltover's finest were embroiled in tooth and nail close quarters combat; all around the barricade, officers were pulling out department issue telescopic batons as a last resort when their pulse rifles ran out of ammo. When the Zuanites got too close, they took them down with frightening efficiency. Others used vintage scatter guns taken from shops around the seaport to blow away any Zuanite that got too close for comfort. Yet while the situation seemed in a state of equilibrium at the moment, years of experience told Lance that it wouldn't last.

It was time to fall back and he knew it.

Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a vintage radio and pressed down on the transmit button. Despite the nay-sayings of many in the department he, like his wife, had an affinity for older tech and the reliability associated with them. The radio that he held used physical buttons and a modular battery while lacking everything from a modern CPU to even a simple touch display. The model was phased out decades ago and was on paper miles behind the modern equivalent. The one thing that the radio had going for it was the fact that while modern tac-pads were vulnerable to EMP waves and would sometimes stop working due to software bugs, the analog nature of the radio made it reliable in almost every circumstance. Sure, it didn't have anywhere near as many functions as the standard issue tac-pad, but for a man like Lance, the radio was more of personal statement than a device of function. The device embodied the simple values that guided him since his youth: endurance, simplicity, and reliability.

Pausing to take in the destruction that was unfolding around him Lance cleared his throat, "This is the acting commander of the barricade defense, all units fall back to the Maginot line. All gun crews report to your stations. "

Switching off his radio he signaled to the few remaining men in his squad to fall back, "Activate the proximity mines and then fall back."

All around the barricade, mines activated then cloaked themselves courtesy of some modifications from the Yordle Science Academy. With the area vacated Zuanites swarmed over the barricade into the minefield. Brilliant pillars of fire enveloped the streets as those unlucky enough to walk into the mines were blown away. Soon all of the mines were detonated, their victims having become the ash that covered the ground.

Once the last officer entered the Maginot line, its doors sealed. The city was quiet once again. The sun was now setting, the shadows creeping up as if they knew of the struggle that would soon ensue.

From his command center in the Maginot line, Lance analyzed a holographic display of the Maginot lines kill radius. The streets were filling with soldiers as they advanced upon their line. Most of them were light foot soldiers armed with the standard Zuanite plasma rifle and light leather armor. Behind them troop carriers were rolling in with what would most likely be the elite troopers equipped with heavier plasma ordinance. Above them the skies were filled with more airships, two for every ship that had been shot down earlier.

Next to him, the lieutenant occupying the binoculars spoke up. "Sir, we should we open fire."

"Lieutenant we're going to lose this battle. We only have enough ammo to last us a few minutes. We need the streets to fill up so we can make every shot count."

"But sir, they're getting in too close." Came the disgruntled reply of the Lieutenant.

A few more seconds passed and the Zuanites were getting closer and closer to the line. Lance's hard face retained it steely look, his teeth were clenched tight.

"Sir!"

Lance calmly walked over to the intercom and depressed the toggle on the console.

"All gun crews weapons free! Fire everything! Burn those bastards! " He screamed. Turning to face the fading afternoon sky, the roar of weapons fire flooded his senses as thousands upon thousands of pulse rounds were pumped into the crowded streets. Having been drawn out that far into the opening with nowhere to run to, the initial wave of light troopers were erased from existence as enough ordinance to level a building slammed into them. Spent energy sinks were spilling all over the ground as what was left of the Piltover police department pumped round after round into the amassing Zuanites. Several loud cracks pierced the air as the forward batteries launched multi-ton tungsten slugs into the advancing troop carriers. In the rear, antiques flak cannons coughed out explosive clouds of shrapnel into the advancing airships, in effect creating a wall of metal.

Observing the carnage, Lance smiled to himself. The City of Progress wasn't going to go out without a fight.

"Sir, zone alpha is requesting ammunition. Hold... zone Gamma is also requesting ammunition." Shouted an officer at a console.

"Sir we're being overrun in zones Alpha through Delta." Screeched another officer.

"Sir, the first fleet reports that all carriers save for the Inceptum have made it sea. Captain Fortune says to tell you she's ready to take to sea.

"Is Shauna aboard?" He asked.

"Yes sir,"

Lance nodded, "Give the Inceptum clearance to go to sea. Send the captain my thanks."

Lance sighed. His job was almost done; his people were going to make it. The carriers would ensure that the citizens of Piltover would live to see another day. Walking over to the intercom he picked up his pulse rifle and pressed the console.

"Men, we did it. The first fleet reports that the evac carriers are away." Cheers erupted all around the Maginot line as the remaining defenders rejoiced. Their sacrifice wouldn't be in vain. Their people still had a future thanks to them. "It has been an honor serving with all of you. Now all that is left is for us to make sure that our enemies never forget the might of Piltover!" With that Lance and the remaining officers in the command center picked up their pulse rifles and ran into the fray.

Leaping over the railing Lance grunted as his feet impacted the ground moments later. Running over to the closest zone he joined the defenders. Walking into a pillbox, he surveyed the situation. Several of the men were taking potshots with pulse rifles while a lone officer manned a mounted spitfire turret, its hail of fire cutting through anything that dared to step into its path. The officer had to have been hit by several plasma rounds. His skin was covered with plasma burns and there was a patched wound seeping out a river of blood on his torso.

Lances walked over to the man, "Let's get you some help son."

The officer was so weakened, he could only groan in response. Carefully, Lance and several of his escorts lifted the officer off of the weapon mount and placed him on the ground lying down. A medic came over and took a look at his wounds.

"How is he doc?" Lance asked.

The medic shook his head. "There's nothing that I can do except inject him with some morphine to make the passing easier."

Lance nodded, "Then get to it. This man deserves to suffer no more."

While the medic pulled out a morphine patch, Lance walked over to the spitfire turret. The seat was still filled with the officer's blood, but nonetheless he set himself down and primed the weapon. Checking the ammo counter, the panel read "63% Capacity". Depressing the power unit, the weapon sprung to life with a deadly hum as its barrels began to rotate at increasingly fast speeds.

"Boys this is it... make every last shot count!"

Pulling the dual triggers, the deadly weapon lit up the pillbox as a deadly stream of pulse rounds poured out from its set of rotating barrels. Lance's arms shook as the weapon fired round after round within the span of a few milliseconds.

Invented in the closing days of the war, only 50 spitfire turrets were put into production, thirty of them being assigned to the Maginot line. Using a classified coolant the weapon was basically an automated chain gun capable of firing pulse rounds at a rate of 3000 rounds per minute. With a full energy sink, the gun could maintain 15 minutes of sustained fire before running dry. Using the latest and greatest in magnetic accelerator technology, each of the barrels were capable of launch a pulse round at speeds up to twelve percent the speed of light. Suffice it to say, the spitfire was a marvelous weapon.

Lance found himself thinking about this as his spitfire ripped a large hole in the ranks of the charging Zuanites, the only things capable of withstanding the firepower of the gun being the plated troop carriers. With the destruction of the anti-tank batteries and the AA canons, the Zuanites were advancing their carriers and airships unhindered. If the tac-pad that he took from the now dead gunner was anything to go by, the other defense zones were dropping like flies under the onslaught of plasma that was being thrown at them. By now the only defense zones that were left were the ones adjacent to the one that he was currently in.

"Sir watch out!"

Lance turned to his right, where a lone man stood high with his plasma rifle raised. Before he could bring the spitfire about, the man fired three rounds of plasma bolts directly at him.

In that split second, time slowed as Lance saw the rounds coming at him in slow motion. Then without warning, his chest exploded with pain as the plasma rounds slammed into his armor, knocking him off the turret and throwing him into the concrete walls of the pillbox. With the trauma that his head experienced, he was knocked out instantly.

When he came to he found himself being held in a kneeling position. His vision blurred as he struggled to focus. Around him were two Zuanite soldiers, their faces impassive as they held his arms down. They were heavily armed; one carrying what he assumed was a plasma scatter gun and the other a large anti-tank accelerator along with a full complement of plasma grenades.

With his vision finally clearing he surveyed his surroundings. Behind him the men from the pillbox were lined up against the wall, a firing squad aiming at them. Surrounding them were the bodies of the defenders, burned up and charred by plasma rounds.

They had served with honor.

Looking down Lance noticed that he was bleeding profusely, his armor most likely having been shredded by the plasma rounds that had slammed into him. The back of his head felt unusually swollen, most likely due to the concussion that he suffered. Given the circumstances it was a miracle that he was alive. In front of him the man who had shot him was speaking into a department issue earpiece.

The two guards let him loose, as the man who he now recognized as a Noxian High Command general tossed the earpiece to him. Catching it he placed the piece on his ear and pressed the toggle button. "This is Summers." He spoke, his voice hoarse.

"Lance, thank god you're alright." Over the line it sounded like Caitlyn was in tears.

"Caitlyn I'm fine, shouldn't you be leaving?" He asked. By now he would have thought that she and Vi would have taken the old UH-1D on the helipad.

"I'm coming to get you. They're going to kill you if I don't." Caitlyn responded. She was desperate, and the Noxian general knew it- he was playing her like a fiddle. It was then when Lance made his choice. His teeth clenched and his hands shook. A lone tear rolled down his cheek as he steeled himself for what was to come.

"Don't do it." He whispered.

"What?"

Quicker than anyone around him could have anticipated Lance pulled a plasma grenade from the guard on his right. Pulling the pin he barreled into the Noxian general. Holding the grenade close he held the general tight and ran into the nearest group of Zuanites.

Despite what was going to happen, the only thing running through Lance Summers' mind was the proudest moments of his life. When he graduated from the police academy, when he first met Caitlyn all those year ago, when she accepted his proposal while in the Ionian mountains, when Caitlyn told him that she wanted to start a family, and now when he knew that he would go out with a bang.

"Caitlyn, know that I will love you forever and always... Goodbye my love."

When the plasma grenade detonated it consumed everything in a 15 meter radius in a brilliant blue wave of plasma that burned hotter than the sun.

When the light died down, Lance Summers was no more.

* * *

"_Caitlyn, know that I will love you forever and always... goodbye my love._"

"Lance!"

Caitlyn could do nothing but watch as Lance detonated a plasma grenade, taking Swain and several others down with him. When the light died down, there was nothing left but a massive smoking crater.

Lance, the light of her life was gone.

A guttural scream tore out of Caitlyn's mouth as she squeezed her eyelids shut in a vain attempt to hold back fresh hot tears. Falling to her knees her senses left her. She was at a loss as to what to do. It was then that she felt it... any ugliness that was boiling in her gut. It was hatred, hatred for Noxus, hatred for Zuan, and most importantly... hatred for the Void. They had killed _her _Lance, and she would avenge him even if it cost her own life. Caitlyn stood up, reaching over her back she took of the sling for her rifle and placed it next to the pilot's seat.

Caitlyn wiped the tears out of her eyes and looked into the distant horizon. "We need to move, by now the Zuanite's should have been able to use one of our officer's tac-coms to find us. They'll be here any minute now."

True to her word, several Zuanite airships began to divert towards their location, their turbines thrusting at 100% capacity. Placing their equipment in the carrier cabin behind the pilot seats, the two boarded the UH-1D and punched the thrusters to full as plasma rounds began to bombard the helipad. As Caitlyn back hard on the flaps the plane somersaulted into a dive down the naval office building. Plasma rounds impacted the crafts hull, but much to Caitlyn's relief the plasma barely even scratched the treated titanium. Caitlyn's hands punched in a few commands on the control pad. A few seconds later the craft's computer booted up.

"Computer set course for Piltover Dynamics!" She shouted, the sounds of plasma impacting the titanium hull of the craft drowning out her voice..

"Course confirmed. Setting course heading 030. " Replied a synthetic voice.

As the craft broke into a nose dive, Vi pulled back on the controls, the craft shooting into the air in response. Seeing the thrust controls she pushed the engines to 200%. The VTOL shook as more and more plasma rounds impacted against its titanium hull.

Vi squinted at one of the panels, "Hull integrity at 80%, engines pushing at 200% capacity."

Caitlyn pulled the joystick in her hand to the side as the UH-1D rolled sharply to the right. No sooner than they had rolled, a stream of missiles flew right through where they had been no more than a few seconds ago. "Looks like we got company."

Vi checked the on-board computer and began activating the weapons systems.

"_Spitfire Turret Online, Micro-Missile Pods at 100% Capacity, tertiary pulse guns at nominal heat levels."_

Caitlyn flicked off the safety on her joystick and checked the sonar array on the ship. "Damn it! There are ten airships right on our tail. I'm going to take us down low!"

The computer console played a pulsing sound as the missile warning detection system flashed a message on the console screen.

Pushing the joystick down, Caitlyn buckled herself in as the VTOL fell into a nose-dive. More plasma rounds impacted the ships hull as the ten Zuanite airships continued to fire. Pulling up at the last second Caitlyn punched the thrusters once more. Behind the craft several missiles slammed into the pavement as the missiles tried and failed to turn in time. Pulling hard on the brake flaps the UH-1D came to a complete stop, the Zuanite ships passing overhead with a roar.

"Vi take those birds out of the sky!" Caitlyn shouted.

Vi smirked. "My _pleasure. _Locking in missiles, spinning up the spitfire."

On the cockpit windows, a targeting display began the to track the Zuanite airships. Smiling, Vi pulled the trigger on her targeting joystick. With a roar the VTOL's entire complement of hex-tech micro-missiles blasted out of their pods, a trail of fumes following them as their engines ignited.

The fading sky grew bright once again as several of the missiles hit their mark. Eight of the airships blew apart midair as the micro-missiles directly impacted their hulls. Flipping a switch, Vi began targeting the remaining two vessels. One of them whipped around a skyscraper in an attempt to get out of the line of fire.

"Caitlyn are you think of what I'm thinking?" Vi asked.

Caitlyn only nodded. Steering the craft straight into the skyscraper she pushed the engine to the max. With a pull of her trigger, the spitfire turret began shredding a path through the building. A few moments later the VTOL punched right through the building, the treated titanium hull barely even scratched.

Seeing the runaway airship, Vi fired the spitfire, its rounds turning the ship into scrap metal.

Vi laughed. "That's one down. Where's the other one?"

Her question was answered when she was almost thrown out of her seat as the last airship came slamming into their sides. Looking out her window she could see the pilot of the airship give her a cruel grin as he veered of to the side to ram them again. Before he could slam into the ship again, Vi pulled out her pulse rifle and emptied it into the Zuanite airship's cockpit. The airship stayed level for a moment before dipping down and crashing into the buildings below.

"He ain't smiling now is he." Vi remarked.

Caitlyn smiled. "No, I suppose not."

At the speed they were going the massive Maginot Line was out of view, the wings flexing as they cut through the air at speeds they weren't built for. Soon the Piltover Dynamics building was in sight. Hovering by the lower levels, the VTOL slowly began to build altitude as Vi probed the floors with the computers scanners.

"Got him, he's on the 108th floor, he already activate the 5 minute auto self-destruct! Wait... Damn it he's got company." Vi began. Running a quick check on her gauntlets she began to unbuckle her straps. Free of the restraints she moved towards the back and opened the side doors. "Level off and I'll go get him!"

"Vi it won't be long before more airships arrive. Make it quick!" Yelled Caitlyn, the noise of the turbines competing with her voice.

Switching to manual control, Caitlyn began to stabilize the VTOL, the flaps coordinating with the gyroscopic sensors that were built into the craft. As soon as the vessel reached the 108th floor, Vi took a few steps back and launched herself at the windows her gauntlets ready.

Vi smiled to herself. "_Sometimes you gotta make a door._"

* * *

_ I should kill you right now you know." Any signs of friendliness were replaced with a maniac glee as the Noxian woman pressed her blade down harder on his throat._

_ "Then do it. It won't save you... or the tech in this place."_

_ After a few moments of hesitation the woman sheathed her blade. "No... it won't. But you won't mind giving us the deactivation codes now would you?" Silently she motioned towards one of the soldiers who had already recovered. "You... bring me a pair of pliers."_

_ "Right away Ms. Du Couteau."_

_ The soldier reached into his trousers and pulled out a pair of pliers which he promptly tossed to the woman. Catching the pliers she jammed it into Ezreal's mouth and latched onto one of his teeth eliciting a painful groan from him._

_ "The code... please. Let's not make this harder than it has to be." She growled._

**"Katarina!" shouted Talon. "We have comp-"**

That was all he could get out before Vi rammed into him, one gauntlet cracking two of his ribs and the other crashing into his face. The kinetic force of the impact threw the two through several layers of sheet rock and plaster as the two ripped through wall after wall. Several soldiers scattered in the wake of the destruction, as the two carved an artificial hallway. Katarina stumbled back in surprise, the thought of torturing Ezreal all but forgotten. "What the hell was that!" she screeched, her hands instinctively reaching for her knives.

Vi was always one to impress.

Even in her youth Vi maintained a knack for making unique entrances. Born in the outskirts of a then crime ridden Piltover and orphaned at age 6 she quickly made a name for herself on the streets as a thief and demo expert. By age 14 she had already made a living for herself stealing money from Piltover's largest establishments with what was then considered over-the-top methods. On her 14th birthday she celebrated by ramming a bus into Piltover Commerce and stealing enough to buy herself a set of hex-tech gauntlets which would in the future became her signature weapon of choice. Her sharp, if not abrasive attitude came off as gutsy and fresh, her antics bringing her notoriety in the city.

That all came to an end when the war began.

When Noxus declared total war on Piltover she saw things that to this day kept her awake at night. It wasn't long before she enlisted to protect the very people she loved to con, her fame and unorthodox skill set already providing (then Lieutenant) Caitlyn Summers the credentials needed to fast track her through the academy and put her on the field.

Now she was a law abiding citizen much to her own disbelief. If someone told her that she would become one of the department's best ten years ago she probably would have laughed at them. Although she had undergone a lot of transformations, till this day she never forgot that Vi from so long ago. She still used her gauntlets, she still loved to ruin people's days, and most importantly she loved big entrances.

After skidding to a halt Talon threw Vi back with a thrust of his legs. Already anticipating the move Vi went into a classic boxing stance. With a flick of her wrists her gauntlets burst to life, their fusion cores glowing with a soft yellow glow. In her youth days she had always used mining grade hex-tech gauntlets as her weapon of choice. While big and bulky they made noticeable dents in people's faces, a factor that she personally loved. Recently, Vi had opted to set down her old gauntlets and replace them with the newer military grade gauntlets. They were slim, light and definitely packed a punch; field tests showed that they were capable of punching through solid steel. Yet with all of its advantages, even now she found herself yearning for the sheer wow factor of her old mining gauntlets.

Pulling out a lengthy dagger, Talon dropped into a low stance. After a few moments his blade glowed a pale yellow as he poured poison onto it. Then he was still, as if beckoning Vi to get him.

Vi only smirked, "Let get cracking!"

With a laugh she charged at Talon who only sprinted forward to meet her charge. Expecting this Talon disappeared for a split second and reappeared behind the pink haired woman, locking her in a choke-hold to put her down.

What he didn't expect though was for her to turn backwards and throw herself down the stairwell that was nearby. After a few moments of free fall the two landed at the base of the stairwell with Talon absorbing most of the force of impact, the result being an audible crunch as another one of his ribs broke.

Recovering quickly, Vi picked the assassin up and threw him up against a wall... and then proceeded to ram him right through it, the force of her gauntlets blasting him right through the sheet rock and into what looked like a conference room.

Leaping to his feet Talon drew two daggers, and swiftly charged, his blades a blur of steel. He attacked relentlessly in an attempt to land a strike onto the Piltover enforcer, yet grew frustrated as none of his strikes connected. For every strike he threw, Vi met the strike with a solid hit from her gauntlets, in essence attacking his attacks instead of parrying. His arms grew tired as the abuse began to take its toll. Meanwhile Vi seemed to enjoy the exercise. As Vi made to strike his legs, seeing an opening Talon jumped into the air in an attempt to kick the enforcer in the head.

Smiling, Vi jumped up to catch him midair and then proceeded to throw him into the large wooden conference table that occupied the majority of the room, the table breaking in half under the force of the impact. Before he could recover she tipped over a nearby metal file cabinet on to him, the weight of the cabinet slamming into Talon, in effect rendering him unconscious.

Straightening her back Vi smiled and took in her handiwork. Remembering what she was there for she broke into a sprint up the stairwell. A Noxian who was mostly likely there to investigate what the hell was going on was unlucky enough to be on the stairwell as Vi flipped him over her shoulder and then threw him through a glass window into the late afternoon sky. The man's screams faded as he fell all one-hundred and eight floors to the streets below.

"End her!" Shouted Katarina. In a moment of desperation she picked up Ezreal and brought one of her blades to his throat. Vi had to have been here for him, there was no other explanation as to why a veteran enforcer was here.

Her three remaining men charged at Vi in a last ditch attempt to stop the Piltover enforcer.

The first one threw a steel tipped spear which she quickly broke by punching it with her gauntlet head on. The man realizing what happened spun around to deliver a roundhouse kick. Seeing the kick coming Vi quickly swept out his other leg causing him to fall onto the floor head first. The man's skull broke with a cringe worthy crack as he lay still.

The second one used a long sword and jabbed repeatedly in an attempt to catch her unawares. Vi dodged and dipped until the Noxian embedded his blade into the wall. Before he could pull it out, with a loud yell Vi punched her fist right though the blade, breaking it into pieces. Weaponless, the man was defenseless as Vi repeatedly pulverized him with her gauntlets. With a final dropkick, Vi sent the man flying through a wall into the Bio Wing.

The third man learning from the lessons of the other two dropped his dagger and picked up Ezreal's pulse rifle. Before he could depress the safety VI picked up a metal workbench that was nearby and held it in front of her as she charged at the man. In desperation, the soldier emptied the entire clip into the table which held strong under the onslaught. Reaching the man Vi quickly punched right through the table delivering a savage blow directly to the man's solar plexus. The soldier dropped to the floor, his diaphragm crushed leaving him unable to breath.

Watching the fight unfold a cruel smile came across Katarina's features.

"You know Vi... another time and you would have made an excellent Noxian" She said genuinely. "In fact if my hands weren't occupied right now I would be clapping."

Vi paused for a moment, "Hmm, I like your smile. Gives me something to aim at." She began, a smirk on her face. "Give me the boy and if I'm feeling nice I'll let you choose which hospital I'm going to send you to."

"Vi..." Rasped Ezreal, "What are you doing here?" He shifted uncomfortably as Katarina pulled the blade tighter to his neck.

"Shut it _boy_, the grown ups are talking." Katarina hissed.

Vi sighed. "Listen, I don't have time for this crap. Cupcake now!"

Katarina whipped around as a deafening roar filled the air, her hostage forgotten. Before she could react, the tail of the UH-1D came crashing into the office smashing directly into her.

With that problem taken care of Vi grabbed Ezreal and threw him through the side door and into the carrier cabin. Time was running out. At least three minutes had already passed meaning that she had to make haste. Smiling in satisfaction, she made to board the VTOL. As she set one foot down into the cabin her ears picked up a soft noise, almost inaudible but most definitely there.

The coldness was so sudden, so unexpected, that Vi didn't realize there was something wrong until she stumbled backwards. There was Ezreal, his mouth opening to emit an inaudible scream. Vi looked down, her eyes telling her everything she needed to know. Right below her chest plate a small hooked blade protruded from her armor. With a yank she was thrown backwards deeper into the building. Immediately she felt a pair of cold hands wrap around her neck as she stared into the cold eyes of Talon.

Judging by the looks of the internal hemorrhaging that was self-evident on his body Vi knew that he was dying.

Talon's face dripped with cold fury, "I'm taking you with me."

Vi had picked up enough from the police academy to know that Talons blade had severed a major artery. She gritted her teeth and threw Talon onto her side as she shakily rose to her feet, every muscle in her body screaming in protest. Raising her foot, she swiftly kicked the dying assassin in the head, knocking him out once more. "I wasn't talking to you."

With the last ounces of strength left in her body she keyed her earpiece.

"It's been an honor serving with you cupcake..." She let out a deep breath. "Leave while you still can... I hope Ezreal was worth it."

With that she collapsed into eternal darkness.

* * *

_A/N: Well after a sleepless night I finally got around to polishing my rough draft. On the 6th I got back from an 18 hour flight and basically just posted what I had. That turned out to be a half baked, 18k prologue with enough grammatical errors to sink a ship so for you newer readers, this is a rewrite. Those of you who read this earlier will notice a few changes towards the latter half, big ones. Also I put in a few cameos... points to you if you can pick up who they are._

_My redone second half will be posted online in the next few hours. After that, a new chapter. Seriously, I thought no one was going to read this story, but now I'm convinced otherwise. I have a basic idea of what I want to do. Seeing as how this is my first fan fic, please read and __**review harshly. **__I'm not kidding, it really helps. As long as its constructive, everyone could use a blasting every once in a while._

**_Temporary Edit: The second part is still being re-written. I did have it up before, but it was a bit rough. I am still a student so I will not be able to update until 8 PST earliest._**

_For more info about this story visit my profile page._

Until next time.

Polish Level-80%


	2. Prologue: Part 2

Preface: For those of you who read the original draft the later portions of this story have been dramatically overhauled. For returning readers who haven't read the first draft, welcome back.

**Prologue: Part II - This Is The End**

"_Leave while you still can..._"

Caitlyn sat in the cockpit waiting for a moment, her eyes glued to the body of her fallen partner. It all seemed so unreal. Vi was supposed to be the lucky one, she wasn't supposed to die.

Yet there she was, lifeless and cold. Already a pool of blood was growing around her body.

Caitlyn was broken from her moment of silence when the monitor on the VTOL began blaring.

"_Radiation spike detected. Advise reaching minimum safe distance._"

Honoring Vi's last wishes, Caitlyn closed the cabin doors with a flick of a switch and yanked her joystick to the side, rolling the VTOL into a dive. Setting course for the outer reaches of Piltover she pushed the thrusters to their limits, the rear turbines shuddering under the strain of propelling the multi-ton aircraft. Not more than a few seconds later the Piltover Dynamics building lit up the fading afternoon sky as the self-destruct mechanism consumed the building in a great flash of light. When Caitlyn looked back a column of energy erupted outwards as the building's overloading reactors erased years of Piltover's greatest engineering and her partner of more than 10 years from existence.

Setting the UH-1D on autopilot, Caitlyn reclined into the back of the pilot seat and held her face in her hands. Her breath shuddered as she let out a deep sigh. Her hands were shaking as she began to playback the events of the day in her mind. With the auto-pilot and the thrusters at maximum it would take at least thirty minutes to get to the secret location in which Glass Tower was constructed.

Thinking about her current predicament her thoughts drifted to Lance.

In her youth, she first met Lance at sea. After the fall of Ionia thousands of ships were commandeered to aid in the evacuation. A lowly Lieutenant at the time Caitlyn was one of the officers assigned to the evacuation. Lance was the captain of the destroyer that she was sailing on. Thinking back on those days, Caitlyn smiled to herself. Their first date was in a closed fishing restaurant at the evacuation seaport. While impromptu, it would always remain etched in her mind. It was when he gave her the silver circlet that she till this day still wore on her shooting arm.

It had begun to rain.

Running her fingers along the simple ring that was wrapped around her finger she recalled the time when he proposed to her. The two were on a mission to extract the Ionian council of elders. By then Lance had quit sailing and joined the force just to be with her. When he dropped to his knees with the Ionian sunset behind him she recalled that she practically jumped with joy. Lance could always make her laugh, even when things were going rough. With Vi dead, and the department wiped out she needed him now more than ever. With his absence sinking in, Caitlyn clenched her eyes shut as she tried and failed to stop a fresh set of tears from falling freely down her face. She was jarred from her thoughts when Ezreal strapped himself into the co-pilot seat.

For a while, neither said a word as they both watched the landscape rush past the cockpit windows. The only thing that they could hear was the whine of the turbine engines and the pattering of the rain on the titanium hull of the aircraft. By now they had reached the outer skirts of the city, the scenery slowly switching from suburban high-rises to dense greenery.

The VTOL began to shudder violently as it was hit by a shockwave. In the distance, a ball of flame reached out towards the sky in the place were Piltover had once been. The statesmen must have detonated the city's reactors. In mere moments the City of Progress was no more.

Ezreal's eyes remained glue to the cockpit windows. With most of the local population having lived in the city, the Coalition deemed the forests tactically important. As a result the forests were left untouched by the invasion. For Ezreal, it was like visiting another world. By now it dawned on him that the two were probably the only survivors left from the invasion other than the citizens on the escape carriers and the men operating the first fleet.

After a moment he broke the silence.

"Why save me?"

For a while Caitlyn said nothing. Then, with her eyes still taking in the view she spoke.

"Because you can save us... all of us."

Ezreal shook his head in disbelief. "I can't."

"You _will_." The commissioner replied, her teeth gritting.

As much as he wanted to argue with her the look on Caitlyn's face told Ezreal that she probably needed her space. Deciding to drop the subject he picked up Caitlyn's tac-pad. Scrolling through its settings he rested against the back of his seat. After beaming everything that the pad had received to his suit's own tac-pad, he began to play back the day's events on his visor.

After another few minutes he switched off his visor and polarized the screen allowing his blue eyes to show.

"I'm sorry about Lance."

"It had to be done."

"I know but still, I-"

The two were interrupted as the computer of the UH-1D chimed, indicating that the tower was coming up. Caitlyn switched the system to manual as she began their descent.

* * *

The first towers built in Piltover were barely taller than twenty or so stories, but fast forward to the now and the very mountains that had adorned Runettera from of the beginning of time looked small in comparison to Piltover's greatest structures.

Glass Tower however, was different.

Built at the bottom of the Guardian Seas, Glass Tower was a magnificent structure standing alone in the endless depths of the sea. Constructed with treated titanium the building defied nature, rising one hundred and thirty eight stories above the sea floor, its peak only rising above the surface by mere meters. In the darkness of the oceans depth, the tower was illuminate by several star rods drawing power from the structure's eight military grade fusion reactors. The tower _alone_ generated more power in a day than Piltover did in a month, the tower being testing grounds for the city-state's latest and greatest classified technology. In order to reach the tower, a tunnel spanning from the tower's base to the edge of the Piltoverite Peninsula was constructed.

Prior to the war, Glass Towers was dedicated to weapons research. Constructed in secret, in the event that a war broke out the lab would develop the next generation of weapons to give Piltover the sharpest teeth in all of Runettera. Prior to the Dark Star Anomaly, most of the scientists assigned to the tower were killed in an explosion during Jarvan IV's funeral. While most pointed fingers at either Zuan or Noxus, neither had claimed credit for the bombing which was highly unusual considering the Coalition's track record of sponsoring terrorist bombings.

Approaching the tunnel entrance Caitlyn transmitted her activation codes through the VTOL's computer, her hands flying over the controls as she brought the craft into a steady hover. It was harder than she remembered, the vessel feeling as if it was unbalanced. "Get ready, we're about to enter the tunnel."

After several seconds, the hillside that the craft was facing split open, the trees and shrubbery that adorned it folding into the ground. Unknown to anyone who tried to break into the tunnel, the trees and shrubbery were in actuality sensor probes that were there for the sole purpose of providing firing solutions for the tower's underwater missile defense systems.

Entering the tunnel, Caitlyn throttled the thrusters, the turbine engines of the UH-1D roaring as the craft sped through the tunnel. Flicking a switch the crafts searchlights pierced the darkness of the tunnel, allowing her to maneuver more easily. Behind them the tunnel entrance closed.

After a few moments of watching the titanium framing of the tunnel racing by, the ground floor of the tower came into view. The VTOL shuddered for a moment as the tower's computer mainframe took control of the craft's guidance systems and steered it towards the nearest helipad. With an audible thud the craft landed.

Switching off the turbine engines and disabling the fuel pump, Caitlyn began to unstrap herself from the pilot's seat. Rising to her feet she placed her tac-pad back on her arm and booted it up. Scrolling through her contacts she selected Jayce's com line.

"Jayce, its Summers... we're here." She began. "Send down the lift."

"It's done." Jayce responded. His voice was fatigued, "I'm sorry about Lance."

Opening the cockpit doors, Caitlyn slung her hunting rifle over her shoulder. To her right, Ezreal stepped into the carrier cabin and pulled a fresh pulse rifle. It wasn't customized like his old one, but in this case it would have to make do.

Caitlyn closed her eyes and sighed, "It doesn't matter. They would have killed him anyway." Pausing for a second she watched as Ezreal pulled some fresh heat sinks from the storage units in the back. "I just hope you're right."

Stepping out onto the helipad, cool air flowed over her skin. Caitlyn paused for a moment and inhaled the cool, fresh air of the hangar bay. The air was clean, any traces of death and despair absent. After fighting in the war for so long, just breathing in untainted air seemed like an oddity.

Ezreal gestured towards the lift in the back of the hangar bay. "Come on, the lift is this way."

Glass Tower was more than just a lab to Ezreal. It was his home. With most of the original staff killed so long ago, most of the statesmen were fine with letting him and his mother stay there with his father. It was a much better alternative than letting all that space go to waste. Raised in the tower, he had access to tech that most could only dream of, the multiple vessels parked in the hangar doing much to further his career as an archeologist. Most of the vehicles in the hangar were well worn. In the earlier days of the war when Demacia and Ionia were still standing, Ezreal had ample opportunity to act on his love for exploration. Suffice it to say, he knew the hangar by heart.

Caitlyn trailed behind Ezreal as he led the way through the maze of vehicles. There were power tools and fusion cells lying about. In the corner of the room there was a massive fueling station, most likely for the purpose of fueling antiques like the UH-1D they arrived in.

Reaching the shaft of the lift, the two stood still waiting in a comfortable silence as they watched the lift descending to the hangar bay. Having been briefed by Caitlyn's tac-pad, Ezreal began to recall everything he knew about the Icathians. It had been several years since he last went on an expedition. It was difficult to remember anything. After trying and failing to concentrate, Ezreal gave up and depressed his earpiece.

"Computer, show me everything on the Icathians."

After a few seconds, his visor depolarized and began flooding Ezreal's senses on everything from the current restoration status of the various ruins to the fundamental basics of the Icathian script system.

By now the lift had reached the ground floor, it's glass walls reflecting the floodlights in the bay. With a hiss the glass doors slid open.

Looking at the walls of the elevator a blur of scarlet caught Caitlyn's eye. Acting on years of experience she grabbed Ezreal and threw him into the shaft. Seeing the scarlet blur again she whipped around and threw herself to the side, firing off several shots from her rifle. In the exact same place that her head was moments before, three steel knifes flew by and smashed into glass doors of the lift. Without hesitating Caitlyn slammed the lift button, the door closing in response. The lift shot up as Caitlyn struggled to her feet.

Ezreal could only watch as Katarina stepped out from behind the UH-1D, her knives at the ready. Her armor was soaking wet and ripped while her hair was plastered to her back. Ezreal smashed the buttons in a futile attempt to return to the hangar bay. The last thing he saw before the lift exited the hangar was Caitlyn facing the master assassin, her rifle by her side and a steely look taking over her features.

* * *

_Katarina Du Couteau was livid._

Born to Marcus and Catherine Du Couteau, Katarina was born into a family of the best trained assassins in all of Noxus. Her father was an established general in the Noxian military and her mother was arguably the best contract killer in all of Valoran. Catherine Du Couteau was probably the foremost influence on Katarina's life. From an early age she began grooming Katarina to be the perfect Noxian; strong, smart, and ruthless. From a young age Katarina was a Noxian prodigy, possessing her father's tactical expertise and her mother skill with daggers. Anyone man who so much as looked at her wrong, would be found in his home weeks later, his throat slit. While others born with her status chose the luxurious life style of High Command aristocrats Katarina, with the encouragement of her mother, joined the Noxian military. Possessing her mother's instincts she used her talents as an assassin to crush any who dared to reject the Noxian code. Trained by the finest assassins in Noxus, her parents being the best among them, it was only a matter of time before High command gave Katarina her first assignment.

Two years later at the age 19 she was attending college in the capital city of Ionia. High command had sent her there to test her for the Nightshade program, which was a then classified Noxian initiative that existed for the sole purpose of crippling the other Valoran based city-states. The sole member of the initiative would have worked in conjunction with the Zuanites, being equipped with tech that could rival that of the Piltover police department. On the night of the Lunar New Year celebration, Katarina slipped out of the University dorms and smothered the students that she had befriended during the past two years in their sleep. The university was home to Ionia's brightest; healers, stargazers, and engineers. In one night she had killed off Ionia's bright future. Returning to Noxus she was assigned to the Nightshade initiative and given an airship courtesy of Zuan.

Today she could only think of one other Noxian who had ever come close to beating her to the Nightshade program... but that person died long ago.

Focusing on the now Katarina shifted her thoughts to the mission at hand. Her Zuanite handler had given her this assignment.

"_This will be an easy assignment._" He had said.

Katarina scoffed. 'Easy my ass.' She thought.

It was only supposed to be a quick intercept. Apparently a few days ago Zuan intelligence shifted the name "Ezreal Vance" to the top of the kill or capture priority list. High command had forwarded everything they had on the family to aid her.

The father was a recognized Piltover Dynamics director. He had been behind the company's fusion reactor initiative. Off the books apparently he was some kind of government weapons designer. All command knew was that when they sent Kassadin to find him and kill him five years ago, the void walker never returned. Reports had said that on the night of the proposed assassination, the Piltoverite witnesses reported that a massive explosion had ripped an entire city block down in a directed blast. Anything after that was redacted by High Command's weapons division. Jayce Vance must have dropped off the grid after that as there was nothing on him following that night 5 years ago.

If Jayce Vance was an enigma his wife was a ghost. Apparently she met him during the Ionian purges if the rumors were to be believed. From what Katarina had heard, Mrs. Vance had white hair and was not one to be trifled with. With white hair she was most likely from one of the tribes deriving from the Rakkor. Every picture that Zuanite airships had taken of her always showed her wearing a hood or a large hat, always something to block her face. Whoever Mrs. Vance was, she didn't want to be known. The son was the only one who had anything resembling a normal life.

Ezreal Vance intrigued her.

Katarina remembered when command forwarded his file to her. Looking at his picture she still remembered his face.

'He's cute.' She had thought. But deep in her gut something was wrong. This boy looked familiar, his features trying and failing to pull a coherent memory from her mind. Whatever it was it unsettled her.

Graduating from Daystrom University at age 16 with honors the boy was a genius. After graduation he had become an established archeologist. The boy was a star, even in Noxus. He had been credited with the discovery of enough ruins to keep the forensic analysts in the Yordle Science Academy busy for the foreseeable future.

That is if the academy still existed. By now Piltover was ashes if the blinding explosion that almost shook her off the tail of a speeding VTOL was anything to go by. As much as it went against what her commanders wanted her to believe, she felt sorry that the city had been razed. The defenders fought to the last man. In fact, if what her men had told her was true General Swain was vaporized by one of the prisoners in a last act of defiance. Whoever these men were they had fought with honor, something even she grudgingly recognized.

That brought everything back to Ezreal.

Someone had sent two of Piltover's best to exfil him and now her brother and her men were dead. Talon might not have been blood but that didn't matter. The two were raised together which was enough for her and while he wasn't anywhere near as good as her, his combat skills were still above average. Talon was beaten to death by an enforcer who had a name for herself even before she joined the force. Her display of skill was impressive to say the least and based on her track record she wasn't one to go on fetch quests.

So why did she sacrifice herself to save Ezreal?

Katarina found herself running this question through her mind over and over again as she analyzed the woman before her.

The woman wore what intelligence said was called "sentinel armor". Most of her vital organs and veins were protected by sleek, armored pieces made of factory molded titanium, the insignia of the Piltover police force displayed proudly on her chest piece. Leather pauldrons protected her shoulders, while a visor screen covered one of her eyes. Given the size of the antique rifle that she was using the visor was most likely one of the optic enhancers that she had taken off of dead Piltoverite snipers. The woman's weapon of choice told much about her. The Elkoss Industries hunting rifle that she held in her hands was a relic of the older days when people were still willing to put their time and effort into building their own ammunition. The woman's weapon of choice also told her another thing.

She was out of ammo.

Katarina's arms crossed as a smirk etched itself onto her face. "You're out of ammo."

Caitlyn only nodded. Without being able to stop and acquire more 50 caliber rounds, her ammo containers were empty. Sighing she dropped her rifle and pulled out her standard issue telescopic baton.

"Commissioner Caitlyn Summers. Graduated from Piltover Tech University with honors. Served on the force for more than 15 years specializing in marksmanship." Katarina began. "Described as pragmatic, old fashioned..." she motioned to her rifle, "highly intelligent, and resourceful." Then she pointed at Caitlyn's baton. "The only stain on your record is the fact that you almost failed close quarters training... and yet you want to face me with that cute little toy. So tell me, are you crazy?"

Seeing the hard look on the Commissioner's face Katarina laughed, "You are crazy."

Caitlyn grimaced. Every fiber of her being told her that what she was doing was suicide. Nonetheless with a sigh she flicked her wrist. With the motion, the baton extended to 26 inches of non-lethal stopping power. She would delay the assassin for as long as she could. She would do Lance proud.

Both Caitlyn and Katarina charged at each other at the same time, their weapons connecting as sparks flew again and again as their weapons clashed. Caitlyn swung at Katarina's legs in an attempt to cripple her legs, but the assassin was too fast. Jumping over the strike Katarina brought her blades down with the speed and fluidity of an experience fighter. Seeing the blades coming down Caitlyn preemptively tackled the woman midair before slamming her into a parked glider's wing. The wing broke as the weight of the two women snapped the wing's frame.

Seeing her opportunity Caitlyn rolled back onto her feet and charged again, bringing about her steel baton in a flurry of strikes to the assassin's body. Without any warning Katarina jumped backward and disappeared in a flash of Scarlet. A few seconds later she reappeared behind the Commissioner slashing a savage strike to the woman's sides. Disappearing again she reappeared above Caitlyn who anticipated the move and thrust her baton right into the assassin's solar plexus. The assassin wretched blood onto the floor as her diaphragm recovered from the savage blow. Jumping back to her feet she smiled, her teeth filled with blood.

"Impressive for someone who's only supposed to know how to pull a trigger." Katarina said seriously, her face devoid of any sarcasm.

Not bothering to reply, Caitlyn checked her wound and then proceeded to drop into the classic ready position, her knees bent, her left arm protecting her face and her baton raised by her head. Spitting out some blood she charged at Katarina again, her arms becoming a blur as she swung again and again. The wound on her side was worse than she would have liked to admit. Already her strength was leaving her as her sentinel armor grew slick with her own blood. It was growing harder and harder to swing the now heavy baton.

Katarina dodged and dipped away from every strike without breaking a sweat - she had decided against using her unique abilities as Caitlyn seemed wise enough to guess where she was going to reappear. Seeing an opportunity she feinted to the left and flicked two daggers at Caitlyn who threw herself to the side as the blades grazed her sides. Before Caitlyn could even contact the ground Katarina put all of her body behind delivering a swift kick to the commissioner's stomach. The force of the blow sent Caitlyn flying through a glass terminal and into a parked truck. There was an audible crunch as the force of the impact shattered several of her bones.

Deciding to end it Katarina unsheathed another two knives and quickly spun around to build linear velocity before letting go, the knives hurtling to the now weakened Caitlyn.

Seeing the incoming daggers, Caitlyn raised her hand as if to shield herself. The first knife embedded itself in her chest while the other clanged off of her silver bracelet. Breaking from the impact the bracelet fell to the floor.

Katarina watched as the now dying commissioner struggled to reach what looked like to her to be pieces of a metal bracelet.

"Lance..." She heard her whisper. Already Caitlyn's voice was growing weak as more and more blood seeped from the dagger embedded in her chest plate.

Intrigued Katarina walked over to where the pieces of the metal bracelet lay. Scooping it up she read the engraved words on the two broken pieces. Caitlyn's eyes gazed at her the whole time, her eyes pleading.

"_Forever and always yours. - Lance_" The assassin read.

In a rare moment of kindness the assassin knelt down and pressed the pieces into Caitlyn's palm, closing the dying woman's fingers around them. Slowly, she took out a knife and held it above Caitlyn's heart. Looking into the fading woman's eyes a look of understanding passed between them.

"I'm sorry."

In one swift movement Katarina plunged the dagger deep into Caitlyn's heart.

With the passing of a few moments Caitlyn Summers fell into an eternal sleep.

Sheathing her blades, Katarina reached inter her pockets and pulled out a standard issue Zuanite homing beacon. Hearing a familiar beep she pulled out her own tac-pad and switched the screen on.

"Ezreal_ Vance- Kill or Capture order belayed. Kill order confirmed. Zuanite reinforcements inbound to location._" It read._  
_

After checking to make sure that none of her wounds were too serious she immediately disappeared in a flash of scarlet.

* * *

Trying for the last time to bring the lift back down, Ezreal slumped to the floor in defeat, the pressure of the day weighing down on him. Although he prided himself as being the adventurous type, his heart was gripped by anxiety as he mulled over just what he would have to do. Already too many good people had died for him. Vi had died exfiling him and by now Caitlyn too was probably dead, slain at the hands of an assassin only an hour after her husband blew himself up in an effort to give her the opportunity to save him. Although he knew that he could save them all if what his father said was true, it wasn't easy knowing that these people died for him. Letting out a deep sigh he shifted his eyes towards the lift display.

Suddenly the air behind him warped as a scarlet blur slammed into him, the glass walls of the elevator cracking from the impact. Before he could so much as blink he was thrown onto his back and a blade pressed up against the exposed skin of his throat.

"High Command wants you dead. People are dying left and right trying to save you, and for reasons I have yet to fathom I ended up holding onto a speeding VTOL only to find myself in a base that as far as I'm concerned wasn't supposed to exist." Katarina growled. "So tell me, why does High Command want _you_ dead."

Ezreal polarized his visor, his tired blue eye in plain sight. "Go to hell Noxian."

Katarina pressed her blade down harder. "_Not the answer I was looking for._"

The master assassin ripped the visor off of Ezreal's head and placed it over her eyes.

"_Unauthorized user detected. Systems shutting down._" The screen read.

Any other Noxian would have been at a loss as to what to do at that point, but not Katarina. Being the only member in the joint Noxian and Zuanite run Nightshade Initiative she had access to many things, a military grade decoder being one of them. Taking the decoder out of her pocket she quickly hooked up the visor to the small metallic device. After a few seconds she felt a small vibration in her hands as the decoder finished breaking through the visors firewalls.

"No..." Ezreal rasped. He struggled to get up, but the weight of the assassin sitting on top of him restricted his movements.

Katarina smirked at this, "Contrary to what you people might believe, you guys aren't the only ones with toys." Flipping her grip on her dagger from an ice pick hold to an upright grip, she rammed the edge of the handle into Ezreal's left temple. The Piltoverite was knocked out instantly.

Detaching the visor from the decoder she placed the slim device over her eyes. After a short boot up sequence an array of images and recordings flooded her senses.

What she saw left her speechless.

Taking off the visor she unsheathed her dagger and raised it above Ezreal heart. "I'm sorry, kid but I can't let you live." Then, Katarina thrust the blade downward.

The blade never connected.

Instead of plunging deep into Ezreal's heart the blade shattered as a blade thinner than anything Katarina had ever seen before crashed through the steel of her blade like it was paper.

Before she could even react she was violently thrown off of Ezreal as a boot connected with her face with enough force to break stone. Spitting out blood, Katarina looked at her assailant. The sword that broke her dagger was being held by a white haired woman. She was wearing a simple white dress- a belt and sheath secured around her waist- and a pair of brown sandals that had straps that wrapped around her calves. Looking into her face piercing red eyes watched over her every move as she struggled to pick herself up.

Quickly the woman scooped up Ezreal like he was nothing and gently passed him on to a brown haired man. She affectionately ran her fingers through his blond hair and bent to down to plant a kiss on his forehead. Turning to face Katarina she leveled her sword at her.

"Don't you _ever_ touch my son again." She growled.

Katarina pulled herself up from the elevator floor and slowly walked into what looked like an exact replica of the Piltover Dynamics R&D room. She warily observed the woman standing before her. The woman's stance was casual, yet her muscles were tense; ready to spring to action at any moment. Although a woman she hefted her sword with the grace and ease of a seasoned fighter. Like a seasoned fighter she had two vambraces covering her slim arms, while a leather pauldron adorned her left shoulder. The woman was beautiful, as was the sword that she held in her hand. Katarina recognized the sword as a Noxian xiphos, the green tinted metal that it was composed of as Noxian hybridized jade, and the runes that adorned its sides as Noxian script. Realizing that the sword and woman was Noxian, Katarina's eyes widened as a realization dawned on her.

She knew this sword. And most importantly... she knew this woman.

"The Daughter of Noxus..." She whispered.

The woman gritted her teeth, "Katarina... it's been a while."

Not yet having recovered from her initial shock, Katarina was speechless. "You... you're supposed to be dead." She stammered.

The woman scowled, "The Daughter of Noxus is dead. She died with her men during the Ionian purges." She lowered her sword. "The woman you see before you now is the wife to a man who loves her..." Her face took on a softer look as she gestured to Jayce. "And a mother to a son she would do anything in the world for."

The woman sheathed her sword in one swift motion. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Riven Vance of Piltover and if you do anything to harm my family I will end you."

Having recovered from her initial shock Katarina grew furious. "You dare betray your people? You dare betray _Noxus_?" She practically screamed.

Riven grimaced, "Noxus had its chance. There is no honor in slaughter. There is no strength in ending the weak. The Noxus I loved fell years ago."

Katarina unsheathed two blades and flipped them both into an ice pick grip. "I will honor the Noxian you once were and give you a quick death. As for your family... for the crime of attempted destruction of our homeland I will personally execute your family in front of the cheering crowds of Noxus."

Riven remained still and just sighed, "You could try."

Weaponless, Riven leaped forward and lashed her fist out so fast that Katarina barely had enough time to duck below the strike. Knowing that she would duck, Riven drove her knee right into the assassin's face- an audible crunch rang out as the assassin's nose broke.

Reeling from the blow Katarina disappeared in a flash of scarlet and attempted to reappear behind Riven.

The former Noxian quickly rolled backwards and kicked savagely, the strike connecting with Katarina's back as soon as she reappeared in what she thought would be Riven's back. The force of the blow threw Katarina through several glass walls, the glass cutting her in several places as she crashed through wall after wall face first. Pulling out her blades again Katarina leaped into action, her hands a blur as she attacked from every which angle possible. Yet, no matter what the assassin did Riven was a ghost, her body flowing around the attacks like water.

In a desperate attempt to land something Katarina unsheathed as many knives as she could and began spinning in a wide arc, throwing knife after knife at speeds faster than the eye could follow. Seeing the assassin unsheathe the knives Riven drew her sword in anticipation for what was to come. With a swift flash of her blade she split the first dagger midair, and then began to dip and weave out of the path of ever blade that went her way until there were no more. Seeing that the assassin had run out of throwing knives, Riven once again sheathed her sword and watched in disapproval as Katarina spat blood on the floor.

Katarina was bruised in several places, her armor was torn, and her nose was bleeding profusely. She held herself with a noticeable crookedness as her back was causing her more pain then she would have like to admit.

Riven on the other hand looked like she was barely breaking a sweat, an obvious look of disappointment gracing her features.

Despite the beating she was getting Katarina was furious, "Why won't you just use your weapon and just fight me?"

Riven paused for a moment, "I made a vow all those years when I became a Vance that I wouldn't kill another living being again. And even now I won't, not even someone as deserving of it as you."

"That makes you weak." Katarina spat.

Riven only shook her head. "Your condition shows me otherwise."

The two were interrupted when alarms pierced the air as the labs AI spoke up.

"_There are several unknown airships inbound. ETA is 3 minutes._"

* * *

Standing on the bridge of a Zuanite flagship, a man observed the forest that was rushing by below them. He was a massive man, the rest of the crewmen on the bridge easily being dwarfed in comparison. He wore a simple blue cloak with silver highlights. On his face rested a metal mask. The two metal slits that allowed him to see through the mask dominated his features, the lenses glowing a dangerous yellow that unsettled most of the crew.

Quickly receding behind his airship lay the ruins of Piltover. While he retained a calm, steely exterior for the sake of his crew, in the inside he was furious. Piltover would have been a treasure trove of technological wonders, but now it was an empty crater. If the military had just listened to him and detonated an EMP above the city they could have rolled in before evacuation completed leaving the Piltoverites no choice but to leave the city be or else risk vaporizing the thousands of fleeing civilians that would have been trapped.

But that didn't matter now.

A few days ago a void walker graced him with his presence and told him that an energy signature that was only supposed to be found in the Void was emanating from the Piltoverite Peninsula. There was only one man alive today who was capable of that and up until know he didn't know where to find him. The last time he so much as talked to the man it was at a cross-city expo; the last before the war began. Behind him, a soldier walked up to him, a data-pad in hand.

"Sir, the homing beacon has locked in. After completing a sensor scan we found an electronic "black hole" in the forests up ahead.

Slowly a mechanized arm withdrew from the man's back and grabbed the data-pad. After studying the readings he turned around and faced the soldier, who after seeing the man's face mask, winced. "Good work. Set a course for the black hole. Prepare the sweep teams."

The soldier nodded and took the data-pad back from the man's mechanized arm. "Yes sir."

Spinning around the soldier walked away and disappeared down a set of stairs.

Watching from the view screen, the man saw an expansive hillside approaching and put his hands on the bridge's railing. Gripping the steel of the building he began to smile.

"Jayce Vance, you cannot stop the Glorious Revolution."

* * *

_Jayce Vance was a stressed man and rightfully so._

Having been awake for the last 70 hours, physically he should have collapsed by now. But if there was one thing that a Vance didn't do, it was quitting during his peoples' greatest hour of need. As the last remaining quantum physicist alive on the Piltoverite Peninsula he would be damned if he didn't give saving his home his best shot.

Taking his son from his wife's arms he placed Ezreal down and began stripping his shredded armor off. Removing everything but his body suit, he placed his unconscious son on a raised platform and ran over to an array of consoles.

"Alex, activate project 2501. Begin the outfitting process."

A blue holograph in the image of a young woman materialized in the lab as multiple projectors converged to form her. Wearing a set of sentinel armor she stood stoically. On her shoulder a red cross was proudly displayed. "_Project unzipped and activated. Spinning up assembly line now._"

Created several years ago, Alex was the pinnacle of artificial intelligence. Brought to life using the neural pathways of a human brain, she was capable of individual thought and much more. When asked to choose her avatar she chose to become a combat medic in honor of all of the women who died trying to help tend to the wounded in Demacia. They had died terrible deaths at the hands of Zuanite chemical weapons and she did not want them to be forgotten. Despite her origins, at times she was more human than most.

Lowering her hands, mechanical limbs dropped down from the ceiling and spread Ezreal out while lifting him into the air. After a few seconds the table below him opened up to reveal a gleaming set of metal armor. With a click the suit split open at the seams revealing a form-fitting, padded interior. The mechanical arms lowered Ezreal into the suit which promptly closed. Running over to the table Jayce quickly pulled a thick cable and attached it to the suit's chest piece, the cable locking into place via magnetic seal. Looking behind him he couldn't help but smile as he saw his wife kick the assassin who dared to attack their son through several of the laboratory's glass dividers. Turning around to face his son he wrung his hands in anticipation.

"Alex, begin the ignition sequence."

"_Aye sir, sequence confirmed. Fusion reactors at one-hundred-ten percent._" With a nod, the holographic image of the AI clapped her hands and pointed to her sides.

The lights in the lab dimmed for a few moments before a blinding blue light filled the room as enough energy to vaporize a city traveled down the ceiling power cable and slammed into Ezreal's suit. After a few seconds the light died down and all that remained was the soft hum of the suit.

_"Ignition successful. Pulsefire systems online. Congratulations Mr. Vance, the Mark I's suit readings are nominal and the energy levels are at seventy percent and rising."_

"It works!" Jayce shouted in triumph. He had done it. He had brought the first pulsefire core in history to life.

He was jarred from his celebration when the laboratory's alarms went off.

"_There are several unknown airships inbound. ETA is 3 minutes._"

A look of fear crossed Jayce's face. "Alex, what are the make and model of the ships?"

"_The small armada consists of 5 dropships and one Harbinger class gunship, all of Zuanite design._"

Jayce cursed, with most of the tower's power already used to jump start the pulsefire core, most of the tower's defenses were still charging up.

In the back of the room, Riven whipped around and stared into her husbands eyes.

"You do your job and I'll do mine. Tell our son I love him."

The former Noxian spun around again as Katarina charged at her. Grabbing the assassin the two disappeared through a wall of sheet-rock as they fought each other with the savagery of wild animals.

Frantically, Jayce turned on what was left of the tower's defense grid. "Alex, what have we got?"

"_Three of the tower's micro-missile batteries are online, one of the auxiliary AA guns is online, but with most of the hillside sensor arrays down I'll have to aim it manually._"

Jayce considered that for a moment. "Begin the activation sequence for the Universe Engine. Buy me some time and use whatever we have left."

"_Will do sir._"

Rushing over to the Universe Engine, a holographic display appeared. On it was a list of every single reality possible. The list was infinite, but right now Jayce was only looking for one. Pulling out a tac-pad he connected it to the Universe engine. Wiping his sweating face, his hands flew across the tac-pad's interface. With a low hum, the engine began to power up.

Looking at the labs surveillance screens he watched as Alex made every missile and every AA round count. The night sky was illuminated again and again as the last of the tower's micro missiles slammed into their targets. By the time the last round was depleted three of the dropships were burning heaps of metal on the forest floor. The rest began to fire on the hillside in an attempt to get into the tunnel. The doors were made out of reinforced titanium, but they wouldn't hold out much longer given the firepower of a Harbinger class flagship. Even from here, tremors could be felt as the gunship continued to fire an endless torrent of accelerated plasma rounds and missiles into the hillside.

Hearing Ezreal begin to wake up, Jayce walked over to the assembly table and looked into his son's slowly opening his eyes.

Ezreal was quiet for a moment before speaking. "Dad?"

" I'm here Ez."

"Wheres mom?"

Jayce paused for a moment. Even after all these years Ezreal still didn't know who his mother was at one point. Perhaps he didn't need to know.

Jayce put on a forced smile. "She's fine. She's preparing to leave for the Inceptum."

"Caitlyn... is she -"

Jayce nodded sadly. "She died a hero's death."

Ezreal looked down and let out a deep breath. Realizing that he was wearing a new suit, he brought his hands up to his face and marveled at the suits construction.

"What am I wearing?" Ezreal asked.

Jayce smiled, "The culmination of years of research. What you are wearing is the only pulsefire system known to man. And with it the fate of our people rests with you."

Ezreal stood up and looked at the Universe Engine. Looking back into the tired eyes of his father he spoke.

"I can't do this by myself."

Walking over to the labs computer mainframe Jayce pulled out a glowing chip. "You won't have too." Placing the chip inside a new visor he handed the device over to Ezreal.

Placing the visor over his eyes and syncing the sound to his earpiece he heard a familiar voice.

"_Hello, Ezreal. It appears we have quite the journey to make,_" came the pleasant voice of Alex.

Ezreal smiled. "Alex, its been too long." Turning to his father he frowned. "Dad I can't take her. You'll need her more than I will."

Jayce only smiled. "When I made Alex all of those years ago, it was leading up to this moment. Nothing will make me happier than for you to carry her to the reaches of infinity and back." Motioning to the platform in the center of the room he cleared his throat. "Alright, lets get started."

Running over to a console Jayce, typed furiously into the displays keyboard. Within a few moments, the ceiling opened up to reveal a tube leading into the night sky. "Ezreal, stand on that platform beneath the sky."

Flexing his legs, Ezreal walked over and stood on the platform.

"Alex spin up the Infinity Cannons."

Speaking out on the pulsefire suit's loudspeaker the AI's voice rang out. "_Universe Engine Online, spinning up Infinity Cannons._"

Connected to the ceiling were two thick cables leading from the Universe engine. After the light in the lab dimmed down pnce again, the engine glowed a bright blue as it began to hum louder and louder. With a loud crack, the energy in the core diffused into the two cables and traveled up through the ceiling. At the top of the tower two massive cannons emerged and pointed into the night sky.

"_The Infinity Cannons are ready to fire. Is the word given?_"

Jayce looked into the night sky and silently prayed. "The word is given."

With a loud boom, the two Infinity cannons shot into the sky in an arc towards each other. When the two cobalt beams slammed into each other, the entire night sky was illuminated as a tear the size of a window opened up. Through it was total darkness.

* * *

To say that Katarina was in for the fight of her life was an understatement.

Right now she was embroiled in a tooth and nail fight with the one person who had a reputation that dwarfed her own. Reeling back from another blow to her face she stopped and panted for breath.

Riven had yet to even break a sweat. "Hate clouds your judgement. She began. "Right now all you can think of is killing me and because of that you will never be able to beat me."

Katarina's eyes narrowed at the insinuation. "I have the Noxian way to guide me. At least I can say that. What guides you _all-knowing Riven of Piltover_?"

Riven's eye took on a hard look. "Compassion" She began. "The thought of losing my family gives me strength and with that no matter what you do you will always fail. Whereas you want to win this fight, I _cannot_ lose this fight. There is"

Katarina backed up towards the lift, Riven following her like a hawk. "It's a shame, you feel that way. Command would have loved to have you back."

Without warning the assassin ducked as the elevator door opened. Before Riven could react she was blasted back into the center of the laboratory as several plasma rounds burned right through her chest.

* * *

Looking past his father, Ezreal squinted his eyes.

"Dad, are you expecting more people?"

His eyes widening, Jayce whipped around. A desperate roar left him as the elevator door opened and the love of his life was blasted away right in front of his eyes. Quickly turning around he grabbed, Ezreal.

"_Go._ The suit is fully flight capable. I'm going to send you to a reality that progressed just like ours. Find me and show me this."

Taking the box that Ezreal had taken from his desk back in his Piltover Dynamics office out, Jayce enclosed Ezreal's fingers around the data chip that lay within.

"Show this to me in that reality. He will know what to do."

Looking at his fallen mother and the armored men that were beginning to step out of the lift, a lone tear rolled down Ezreal's face as he polarized his visor. "I love you dad."

Jayce sighed and gave his son a hug. "Ezreal, I've created many great things in my life, but I want you to know that you always have and always will be my greatest creation."

With that, a sonic boom filled the air as Ezreal took off the landing pad at speeds faster than the speed of sound. The suits thrusters roared as Ezreal pushed up into the night sky. Looking up he breathed in deeply as he was enveloped by the dazzling light of the universal tear.

After a few moments the tear began to flicker, and then with a final crack the tear collapsed in on itself.

With the night sky fading to black Jayce's eyes rested on Riven's broken form.

"Riven!" He screamed. In a split second he ran to her, his arms cradling her rapidly fading body.

" Did our boy make it?" She whispered, her hands growing cold.

Jayce struggled to hold his tears back, "He did."

"Thank you ... for everything."

With a last breath Riven's grip went limp.

"_There was a time when your wife wisely set aside her compassion, steeling herself for what had to be done. And now the weakness of your peoples has infected her with a false sense of righteousness. I see now why your country was doomed from the start._" A gravelly voice began. "_You __were__ weak._"

Jayce only stared into the eyes of his love, the rest of the world forgotten. Placing his hand over her face he closed her eyes.

Stepping out of the lift, the owner of the voice walked over to Jayce. Leveling a glowing hex-tech arm over his shoulder at him, the mans piercing yellow eyes looked down upon the scientist.

"Your son... Which reality did you send him to?" He demanded.

Remaining silent for a few moments, Jayce looked the man in the eye, his blue eyes full of pain. "His name is Ezreal... and he is out of your reach." Gripping Riven's cold, dead hands he let out a deep sigh.

"Computer, commence auto self-destruct sequence. Deactivate the force fields."

After a minute, Glass Tower was crushed into oblivion by the depths of the Guardian Seas as the shields holding the superstructure together deactivated one by one.

* * *

Entering the tear an azure colored nebula of light filled Ezreal's vision. Depolarizing the screen didn't do much to shield his eyes from the visual assault as the lights displayed more colors than he had names for.

"Alex are you still there?" Ezreal asked uncertainly.

" _I am here Ezreal. I'm sorry about your parents._"

Ezreal only looked ahead as his suit's thrusters propelled him forward. Over the next few minutes several displays of light flashed in front of him as he traveled through space and time.

Without warning he was suddenly hit by an immense shock-wave. If it wasn't for the suits advanced shock absorption capabilities, the force of the impact might have broken him.

"Alex what the hell was that?" Ezreal shouted.

There was no response. A few moments later Ezreal's vision was flooded with what appeared to be a darkened city. Before he could take a closer look, he was enveloped by the blinding light of the universal tunnel once more. A few moments later his vision was again flooded with images of a city, this one being a rural one. Except this time instead of being enveloped by the blinding light again, he plummeted down to Runettera.

"Alex what is going on?" He screamed in desperation.

Nothing.

Ezreal could only closed his eyes as he plummeted straight down into what seemed to be a lush, green mountain. When he finally slammed into the ground, Ezreal was instantly knocked out.

When he came to he awoke to the smell of flowers.

Polarizing his visor, pure clean sunlight took over his senses. Around him was a sight to behold. In the distance lay mountain after mountain, valley after valley. All around him was an array of fauna that he had never seen before. Standing up and looking around him, Ezreal caught his breath as the beauty of the world surrounding him showed itself to him.

Pulling up his suit's readout displays his thrusters signaled that they were repairing. In addition, it looked like the suit's primary communications network was going under a diagnostic. Perhaps that was the reason why Alex wasn't responding.

With a sad smile, Ezreal began the long trek into the distance.

_There was much to be done._

* * *

_A/N: Hello everyone, Uncertain here. So here we are at the end of part 2. I hope you guys enjoyed it. If you didn't please review and blast me by telling me what I did wrong. If you did like it there's more of where this came from as this is only the prologue. By this weekend I'm hoping to post the first two chapters about this new reality that Ezreal will find himself in. Just to hint at things to come, let me just drop a hint and say the Universe Engine didn't exactly work as it was supposed to... Anyways, as always please read and review. I will be reading these things so if you have something constructive to say it can only help me. Until next time._


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